Better Together to host ‘A Night of a Million Dreams’ Gala on Nov. 10

Better Together, a nonprofit dedicated to families and children, is hosting ‘A Night of a Million Dreams’ Gala at 6 p m on Friday, Nov 10 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Bonita Springs The gala will raise funds to support Better Together’s mission of helping parents find employment and provide a loving, safe and supportive foundation for their children

The Wizard of Oz-themed gala will take guests on a magical journey to the wonderful land of better families and better jobs with an evening of dinner, impactful stories and live and silent auctions, with all proceeds to benefit Better Together programs that serve families across the state The event is chaired by Dr Alise and David Bartley

Better Together is made up of two programs – Better Families and Better Jobs – that help parents who are going through a hard time to keep their kids out of foster care, find work and address the root causes of their struggle so that they can reunite as a family with the tools and support system to thrive Established in Southwest Florida just over five years ago, the nonprofit’s programming has rapidly expanded to reach families in 21 counties across the state To date, the organization has served over 7,800 children and kept 98% of families together, while helping 39,000 job seekers across 22 states find employment

“Our goal is to end the foster care crisis in Florida, but we can’t do this alone,” said Megan Rose, CEO of Better Together “With the community’s support, we can address the root causes of child neglect and help families navigate the difficulties and challenges that come with life and parenting We are all better together, and together we can help our neighbors find their way home.”

Solutions and Pulte Homes

A range of sponsorship opportunities are still available for the fundraising gala, including Over the Rainbow ($15,000), Lion's Heart of Gold ($10,000), Ruby Slipper ($5,000), Yellow Brick Road ($2,500), Paddle ($1,000) and Fund a Dream ($500) sponsor levels. To secure a sponsorship or for more informat i o n , c o n t a c t L o r a B o s t i c k a t lora@bettertogetherus org

The gala will be held at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, located at 5001 Coconut Road in Bonita Springs and tickets are $350 per person and $2,500 for tables of eight To purchase tickets or for more information, visit BetterTogetherUS org/Gala

About Better Together

The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve the immediate creation of 23 new p o s i t i o n s w i t h i n t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f C o m m u n i t y Development to address increasing building permit volumes

Increased permitting volumes are projected to continue over the next several years as Lee County’s population continues to grow and as residents continue to rebuild following Hurricane Ian From Oct 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, staff accepted 72,516 permit applications, 45,411 of which were identified by the applicant as being hurricane related Staff issued 68,362 permits, 43,006 of which were identified by the applicant as being hurricane related

In the same period, 207,056 inspections were requested and 131,323 inspections were completed, of which 108,831 were hurricane related

The estimated cost of the 23 new positions for the remainder of the current fiscal year, including benefits, indirect, computers, licenses and vehicles − for Building Inspectors only − is $806,033 For the next full fiscal year 23/24, this equates to a $2 8 million increase over the proposed budget.

The event is presented by Gaea Landscaping as The Emerald City Champion sponsor Additional sponsors include DeAngelis Diamond, LeeCorp Homes and Wilson & Johnson as Lion's Heart of Gold sponsors; HBK CPAs and Consultants, Priority Marketing, Southern Living Contractors and Southern Oak Wealth Management as Ruby Slipper sponsors; Mutual Trust Advisory Group, Tommy Bohanon Foundation and Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP as Yellow Brick Road sponsors; Other sponsors include Potter Homes, Maughan Himschoot & Associates Law Group, Priority Business

Community Development has implemented strategies to address permit backlog and review times, including filling of all vacancies, shifting internal staff resources as available, paying overtime and using consultants

In February, the Board of County Commissioners authorized a mid-year budget adjustment to hire 11 new positions to address permitting demands amplified by recovery following Hurricane Ian Building Services operations are funded by building permit fees as permitted under Florida Statutes There are currently 113 positions in DCD funded by building permit fees

To receive updates from Lee County Government,

Better Together is a nonprofit organization that helps parents going through a hard time keep their kids out of foster care, find work and address the root causes of their struggle so that they can reunite as a family with the tools and support system to thrive A privately funded and professionally supported organization, Better Together is made up of volunteers who believe helping people help themselves is the best way to restore dignity and bring families together Through the Better Families program, families are offered a preventive alternative to foster care while they get the help they need To date, the program has kept 98% of children served out of foster care The Better Jobs program was created to address the 76% of families that come to Better Together because of economic hardship tied to unemployment In addition to community job fairs, the program offers job seekers coaching, guidance, support and encouragement through local church partners For more information, visit BetterTogetherUS org

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